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Commercial Pop Track

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Chosen song:

• Sourced from an external songwriter
• Fit the assignment brief better than my own songs as I am not a pop songwriter

Initial recording: Vocals + Acoustic Guitar

• Used WA-87 and AKG C414 for the acoustic guitar
• Used SM7B for Vocals
• Quality did not matter
  • used as a guide to build the track around
    • Focused more on the timing of the instruments

Building the arrangement:

• Kept the verses small to emphasise the high energy jump in the choruses
  • Reduced down to predominantly bass and drums in the verse – High energy synths in the chorus
• Prevented overcrowding 
• Maintained interest in the listener due to the constant change 
• Implementing something new in each section
  • Builds up slowly overtime and drastically increases energy by the end of the song without being too obvious

Bass:

• Used DI and RE-20
• DI for the low-end
• RE-20 for clarity in the higher frequencies
• Copied the baseline in midi
  • Added an extra distorted bass sound during more intense sections
    • Helped cut through a dense mix
    • Excluded during verses
      • Bring the energy down
      • Emphasise the jump in energy for the chorus
• Compressed on the way in – slow attack – fast release
  • Brings out the attack of the bass – makes it more present

Electric Guitar:

• Used DI and Beyerdynamic M160
• Blended them together
• Guitar was not intonated properly – rerecording necessary
  • Used a DI – run through outboard EQ, compressor and my pedal board to utilise the reverb
• Included single strums and simple picking patterns
  • More space for other elements such as synths

Drums:

• Used a drum session I had set up to record one-shots that – sample and build a drum part with
  • More versatility with the sound and the arrangement
• Used multiple extra microphones
  • Could take out of the drum mix to change the sound if necessary
  • EG: Crotch microphone – AKG C414 – Heavily compressed with LA-2A for heavy punch and character
    • “a microphone over the top of the bass drum pointing at the snare” – “add a lot to your drum sound especially when compressed” – “captures snap from the kick in the snare” (How, 2021)

Room Microphone to contextualise the sounds

Synths:

• Used midi synths in logic
• Utilised low pass filters to shape the tone throughout the track
  • Opened up the filters as the track progressed to increase the energy and frequency density
  • “Introduce a dynamic feeling to an otherwise static, unchanging presence” (Veach, 2023)

Mixing:

• Mixed the track as it was being recorded
• Synths
  • Automated EQ’s to create sweeps
  • Quick way to build tension and energy going into new sections, EG: The bridge

Reference:

• Toxic – Britney Spears
  • Use of synths
  • Emphasis on bassline

Dates and personell present:

Acoustic Track

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We used one of my original songs:

• Slow acoustic-led ballad
• Already fully arranged
• Had demo recordings from band performances as a guide

Began with the acoustic guitar and a guide vocal:

• WA-87 and AKG C414 for the acoustic guitar – A more accurate and natural sound
• SM7B for the guide vocal – planned to be replaced – quality of the recording didn’t matter

Had a session set up by the university to record drums and double bass with their own session musicians:

See fig. 1-3 for initial plans + documents regarding the session.

Drums:

• Placed a microphone to each section of the kit for full control + Room microphone to contextualise the sound
• 2 takes due to limited time
  • Not feasible to use any outboard gear

Double Bass:

• AKG C414, KM183 and DI used
• Small diaphragm condenser placed under the bridge – held in place using hair ties – Fixed position for consistent proximity to the bass – captures deep, crisp low end

Initial picture before alterations:

We then recorded all the other elements of the track:

Vocals:

• Used WA-251
• Comped the vocals as we recorded – make sure they didn’t need to be redone

Acoustic Bass:

• Used a DI and AKG C414
• DI to capture the low-end
• AKG C414 to capture high end clarity

Viola + Violin + Cello:

• Used AKG C414 and the Beeb and blended them together
• AKG C414 to capture the clarity and pure sound of the instruments
• Beeb to add warmth and a unique character to the sound
• Recorded multiple different parts for each instrument – simulates a full orchestra with different sections 

Backing Vocals:

• Used an SM7B
  • Neutral sound and reliable
• Was intentionally sparing – due to the quiet and intimate nature of the song

Tracking Philosophy:

• EQ’d and compressed where possible whilst recording to clean up the sound
• Reduces the workload later
• Sounds better for the other performers whilst still in the recording stage

Initial Mix:

• Originally mixed the track as we were recording it
• Issues appeared – long time to record all the parts – mix felt really disjointed
• Session was unorganised so I struggled to locate everything – reduced efficiency and quality

Final Mix:

• Bounced out all the raw audio files and dropped them into a new session
• Implemented top-down mixing
  • More efficient / viable due to time constraints
  • Stopped me from over processing instruments which kept the natural / intimate feel of the track
  • Maintained cohesion 
• Bass
  • Mixed the bass DI and Microphone separately
    • Used a low pass filter on the DI and heavily compressed to control the low end frequencies
    • Used a high pass filter on the microphone to allow the higher frequencies to breathe and shape the tone (Sturgis, 2018)
• Drums
  • Used parallel compression – brings out the cymbals due to them being the key component of the part that was played
    • Fast attack and release to keep the kick and snare level low whilst the cymbals could be brought up
• Strings
  • Panned them similar to how an orchestra would be positioned with slight differences
    • Double bass in the centre to keep control of the low frequencies and avoid issues with the stereo image
  • Keeping the bass in the centre – stays out of the way of the other frequencies further out in the stereo field
  • Used Mid-Side EQ to “widen the stereo image by boosting the highs on the sides” and “focus the low-end” by cutting it from the sides instead (Mastering The Mix, n.d.)

Reference:

• Going to a Town – Rufus Wainwright
  • Similar string arrangement + Instrumentation

Dates and personell present:

Location Recording

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Initial Idea:

• Recording in a church
  • Plenty of locations that have been known to accept students for recordings
  • Great locations for small ensembles including strings, woodwind, brass, etc
  • My personal connections to classical musicians 
• Contacted multiple churches – got a reply from St. Michaels’ Church
  • They offered their choir during their service which negated the need to find our own ensemble – Simplified logistics
    • Included choir and organ – fits the brief

Preparation before the recording:

• Visited the church for the service the week before our recording
  • See the layout of the church / performers
    • Can properly plan the session including microphone choices, placements, etc

• Layout and choir positioning differed drastically from what I had expected
  • Complete change in my plan
  • Prevented mass last minute changes during the session

Recording Day:

• Picked up equipment from LCON at 4pm
  • Service started at 6:30pm
    • Plenty of time for setup – could solve any problems that may have appeared
• Original plan shown here:

• Changed drastically due to missing microphones and further discussion at the venue shown here:

Microphone Setup:

• Wide Stereo Pair
  • Using Schoeps CMC5U Cardioid facing towards the opposite side of the choir
• “Gives a very open, spacious sound” – Due to sound hitting the microphones at different times
• “Centre players often sound strange due to being picked up by 2 microphones with “neither mic being directly in front of them” (Shure.com, 2017)
  • Not an issue as all singers were to the sides

• Spot microphones
  • Using KM184 pairs facing the opposite side of the choir
    • Done so that it can pick up the rest of the section rather than whoever is right infant of the microphone
  • Cardioid microphones used to isolate its chosen section
    • Creates a more realistic stereo field once panned
    • Doesn’t pick up the choir section behind the microphone

• Room / Organ microphone
  • Used an AKG C414 as high as possible and facing towards the organ
    • Set to omni to pick up the organ and the sound of the room

• Choir rehearsed in a separate room
  • Couldn’t do a proper sound check
  • Performed a line check of all the microphones – make sure they were receiving a signal
    • Discovered channel 3 on the Zoom F8 interface didn’t work and had to change the input
    • Levels were set during the service – Couldn’t change placements – important everything worked as intended before we started
• We were positioned out of the way as to not disturb the service, but close enough to not be restricted by where we could place microphones

Health and Safety:

• We had to be careful as to where we led the cables
  • People would be walking around them
    • Prevent any accidents
• Laid cables down corners and the side of walkways
  • Taped them down in intervals to prevent them from moving
  • Aesthetically pleasing to cause as little disruption to the service as possible

• Avoided laying cables across where people would walk where possible
  • Fed the cable along the top of doorways

Improvements:

• Double check all the equipment before we leave
  • Was missing a pair of KM184’s
• Spot R microphone had a lot of noise possibly due to a grounding issue
  • Once we had noticed it, it was too late to make alterations

Mixing:

• Basic panning and setting volumes
  • Using processing would negatively affect overall sound due to the amount of room noise and need for a stereo image

Dates and personell present:

Reflection

Communication:

• Lack of communication in group
  • Planning / execution became difficult / rushed

Appendix

Fig. 1:

Fig. 2:

Fig. 3:

Bibliography

Sturgis, J. (2018). How To Achieve A Consistent 2-Part Bass Tone. [online] Joey Sturgis Tones. Available at: https://joeysturgistones.com/blogs/learn/how-to-achieve-a-consistent-2-part-bass-tone?srsltid=AfmBOopzwvG81zv83R4henegH8B95BAMNHOEhveb8i5bnJCyGzpwZioa [Accessed 30 Apr. 2026].

Veach, E. (2023). What Is a Filter Sweep and How Can I Use It – Flypaper. [online] Flypaper. Available at: https://flypaper.soundfly.com/produce/what-is-a-filter-sweep-and-how-can-i-use-it/. [Accessed 30 Apr. 2026]

Mastering The Mix. (n.d.). Creative Mid/Side EQ Techniques. [online] Available at: https://www.masteringthemix.com/blogs/learn/creative-mid-side-eq-techniques. [Accessed 30 Apr. 2026]

Shure.com. (2017). Common Techniques for Stereo Miking. [online] Available at: https://www.shure.com/en-US/insights/common-techniques-for-stereo-miking. [Accessed 30 Apr. 2026]

How (2021). How To Add More Size And Depth To Your Drum Sounds. [online] Kyle Krysa Drums. Available at: https://kylekrysadrums.com/blog/gemoresizeanddepth.